Since the Brown K. Board of Education ruling, the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause has:
A. reduced the federal government's power over states.
B. allowed states to ignore federal civil rights legislation.
C. forced courts to apply strict scrutiny to all civil rights cases.
D. protected legal rights for many marginalized groups.

D. protected legal rights for many marginalized groups.

Explanation:

The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark litigation or court case between Oliver Brown and the Board of Education in which the justices of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled (9-0) in 1954 that racially segregating children in public schools was unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (14th) of the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Fourteenth (14th) Amendment is an amendment to the constitution of the United States of America and it addresses the issue of civil and legal rights for the African American citizens and slaves who had gained freedom after the American Civil War. The 14th Amendment is made up of the clause known as the equal protection of the laws.

An Equal Protection Clause is a clause that states and guarantees that no state and local governments shall make or enforce any law which would contravene the privileges, rights or immunities of all persons born or naturalized in the United States of America.

Since the Brown V. Board of Education ruling, the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause has protected legal rights for many marginalized groups because it guarantees that all citizens of the United States of America will be treated equally by the law.

i honestly have no idea